Agatha Christie Books in Order: Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and All 66 Novels

During the First World War, a young woman from Torquay worked as a dispenser at the town’s Red Cross hospital. She learned a great deal about poisons there, and she used it in her first detective novel. Agatha Christie wrote The Mysterious Affair at Styles during the war, and it was published in 1920.

That book introduced Hercule Poirot. Ten years later came Miss Marple, and between 1920 and 1976 Christie published 66 mysteries in all. Here they are by detective, each list from first book to last. After the lists come where to start, the darkest and best-known titles, and our seven reviews.

Agatha Christie Books in Order: Every Detective Novel by Sleuth

The years below are the first publication anywhere, as on the official Christie website. A few books came out in the United States a year before the UK edition, so British lists sometimes show a later date.

Hercule Poirot (33 Novels)

Poirot is a retired Belgian detective, once one of the most celebrated members of the Belgian police. In his first case he is a refugee in an English village, and his old friend Captain Arthur Hastings joins him. He appears in 33 novels and 51 short stories, from 1920 to 1975.

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
2. The Murder on the Links (1923)
3. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
4. The Big Four (1927)
5. The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
6. Peril at End House (1932)
7. Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
8. Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
9. Three Act Tragedy (1934)
10. Death in the Clouds (1935)
11. The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
12. Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
13. Cards on the Table (1936)
14. Dumb Witness (1937)
15. Death on the Nile (1937)
16. Appointment with Death (1938)
17. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (1938)
18. Sad Cypress (1940)
19. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (1940)
20. Evil Under the Sun (1940)
21. Five Little Pigs (1942)
22. The Hollow (1946)
23. Taken at the Flood (1948)
24. Mrs McGinty’s Dead (1952)
25. After the Funeral (1953)
26. Hickory Dickory Dock (1955)
27. Dead Man’s Folly (1956)
28. Cat Among the Pigeons (1959)
29. The Clocks (1963)
30. Third Girl (1966)
31. Hallowe’en Party (1969)
32. Elephants Can Remember (1972)
33. Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case (1975)

The Poirot short story collections include Poirot Investigates (1924), Murder in the Mews (1937) and The Labours of Hercules (1947).

Miss Marple (12 Novels)

She lives in St Mary Mead, a fictional village about 25 miles from London. Her first appearance was in the short story “The Tuesday Night Club” in December 1927. That story was later collected in The Thirteen Problems (1932). In all she has 12 novels and 20 short stories.

1. The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
2. The Body in the Library (1942)
3. The Moving Finger (1942)
4. A Murder Is Announced (1950)
5. They Do It with Mirrors (1952)
6. A Pocket Full of Rye (1953)
7. 4.50 from Paddington (1957)
8. The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1962)
9. A Caribbean Mystery (1964)
10. At Bertram’s Hotel (1965)
11. Nemesis (1971)
12. Sleeping Murder (1976)

Tommy and Tuppence (4 Novels and a Story Collection)

Thomas Beresford and Prudence Cowley solve their cases as a team. Their adventures run from 1922 to 1973, the year of the last novel Christie wrote. The short stories of Partners in Crime belong between the first and second novels.

1. The Secret Adversary (1922)
2. Partners in Crime (1929, short stories)
3. N or M? (1941)
4. By the Pricking of My Thumbs (1968)
5. Postern of Fate (1973)

Superintendent Battle (4 Novels)

Battle also turns up in the Poirot novel Cards on the Table.

1. The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
2. The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
3. Murder Is Easy (1939)
4. Towards Zero (1944)

Colonel Race (2 Novels)

1. The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
2. Sparkling Cyanide (1945)

Standalone Mysteries (11 Novels)

Each of these is a Christie novel with no series detective, so each one is a fresh start. One of them is set in ancient Egypt.

1. The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
2. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (1934)
3. And Then There Were None (1939)
4. Death Comes as the End (1944)
5. Crooked House (1949)
6. They Came to Baghdad (1951)
7. Destination Unknown (1954)
8. Ordeal by Innocence (1958)
9. The Pale Horse (1961)
10. Endless Night (1967)
11. Passenger to Frankfurt (1970)

Some lists count the Battle and Race books as standalones too. We keep them apart because the detectives return.

Publication Order or Series Order? How to Read Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple

You do not have to read in order. Most of the novels work as stand-alone mysteries, so you can start anywhere. The safest plan is to follow each detective from first book to last, the way the lists above run. Poirot’s earlier cases are barely mentioned in his third novel, for example, and Hastings only returns in The Big Four.

Two books are the exception. Curtain and Sleeping Murder were written during the Second World War but published last, in 1975 and 1976. Curtain is Poirot’s last case, and it takes him back to Styles, the house of his first. We would save both for the end.

For anyone who wants to read everything chronologically, the Christie estate publishes a complete reading list in order on its website.

How Many Books Does Agatha Christie Have? Novels, Detective Stories and a Pen Name

Christie wrote 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, according to the official Christie website. Some of her sleuths live only in the short stories. Parker Pyne, for example, has a short story collection of his own, Parker Pyne Investigates (1934). Harley Quin appears in The Mysterious Mr Quin (1930).

She also wrote six novels under the name Mary Westmacott, and these are not mysteries:

• Giant’s Bread (1930)
• Unfinished Portrait (1934)
• Absent in the Spring (1944)
• The Rose and the Yew Tree (1948)
• A Daughter’s a Daughter (1952)
• The Burden (1956)

Then there are the plays. The Mousetrap has run in the West End since 1952 and is the world’s longest-running play.

What Is a Good Agatha Christie Book to Start With? Our Book Recommendations

Start with And Then There Were None if you want one book that needs no background. For Poirot in order, begin with his first case. For a village mystery, begin with The Murder at the Vicarage.

The official Christie website has its own list, “Nine Christie Novels for Newcomers” (2017). It suggests, oldest first:

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
2. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
3. The A.B.C. Murders
4. Death on the Nile
5. And Then There Were None
6. Evil Under the Sun
7. Five Little Pigs
8. Crooked House
9. A Murder Is Announced

The same list notes that many critics see Five Little Pigs as her greatest work. The estate also says she called Crooked House her personal favourite.

We have reviewed seven of her books. Our Styles review covers Poirot’s first case. The Roger Ackroyd review looks at the book that defined her career. For her village sleuth, read our review of the first Marple novel.

The others are our reviews of Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?. Fans of the Beresfords can start with our Partners in Crime review.

Her Best-Known Books: From The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to And Then There Were None

Her best-known books are Murder on the Orient Express (1934), The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and And Then There Were None (1939). Ackroyd made her a bestselling star, in the estate’s words. In a 2015 vote, And Then There Were None was the public’s favourite Christie. The estate calls it the best-selling crime novel of all time, with more than 100 million copies.

What Is Agatha Christie’s Darkest Book? And Then There Were None or Endless Night

There is no single answer, but two titles come up most. And Then There Were None is often called one of her darkest novels, and the estate itself calls it “one of her darkest”. It came out in 1939, and the official biography says its dark subject and claustrophobic mood reflect that year.

The crime writer Christopher Fowler made the case for Endless Night (1967). The estate says its theme is a twisted character who always chooses evil over good.

Who Was Agatha Christie? The Life of the Queen of Crime

She was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in Torquay, Devon, on 15 September 1890. In 1914 she married Archibald Christie, and they divorced in 1928. In 1926 she disappeared and was found at a hotel in Harrogate, registered under the name Theresa Neele. In 1930 she married the archaeologist Max Mallowan.

That same year she was a founding member of the Detection Club, and she was its president from 1957 to 1976. She became a CBE in 1956 and a Dame in 1971. She died on 12 January 1976, and the West End theatres dimmed their lights.

Guinness World Records names her the best-selling fiction writer, with an estimated 2 billion copies sold. When Curtain came out in 1975, Poirot became the first fictional character to get a front-page obituary in The New York Times.

New Poirot and Miss Marple Novels by Other Authors

The estate has commissioned new books. These new Poirot novels and the Marple titles are not part of the 66. Sophie Hannah was the first author asked to write an original Poirot story. She has written six:

1. The Monogram Murders (2014)
2. Closed Casket (2016)
3. The Mystery of Three Quarters (2018)
4. The Killings at Kingfisher Hill (2020)
5. Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night (2023)
6. The Last Death of the Year (2025)

In the latest, Poirot and Inspector Catchpool spend New Year’s Eve 1932 on the Greek island of Lamperos.

Miss Marple came back first in Marple: Twelve New Mysteries (2022), stories by twelve writers. The newest book is a full novel: Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley, set in the Swiss Alps. HarperCollins published it on 22 September 2026, fifty years after the last Christie Marple novel. No further continuation novel is on the schedule so far.

Christie on Screen: Films and TV

David Suchet played Poirot in the ITV series from 1989 to 2013: 70 episodes, ending with Curtain. Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in three Poirot films, the last being A Haunting in Venice (2023), loosely based on Hallowe’en Party. Joan Hickson’s BBC Miss Marple (1984–1992) is often considered the most faithful.

Netflix released Seven Dials on 15 January 2026, with Martin Freeman as Superintendent Battle. A BBC series called Hercule, with Edward Bluemel as a young Poirot, is expected in the second half of 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions About Books by Agatha Christie

What is Miss Marple’s first name?

Her first name is Jane. The official Christie website calls her Miss Jane Marple, and in her first novel she signs a note with her full name.

Did Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple ever meet?

No. Christie never wrote a novel or story with both of them in it.

Who is Ariadne Oliver?

Ariadne Oliver is a crime novelist and one of the recurring characters. She appears with Poirot, Battle and Race in Cards on the Table, and the official website also lists her for The Pale Horse.

Which authors are similar to Christie?

Our British cozy mysteries page collects village sleuths in the tradition of her detective fiction. For a modern Cotswolds series, try M.C. Beaton and her Agatha Raisin mysteries. If you like her 1920s and 1930s settings, browse our historical cozy mysteries.